Chapter 25
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“Do you want to join us?” The oldest boy tilted his head and looked at me. His eyes were bright in the darkness, and for some reason, his gesture reminded me of the black cat I had just encountered at the gate.
“Well, since you guys are going to play, adding me won’t make a difference. If I can’t join in, I’ll just record you guys playing on the side,” I replied.
“Xue Fei, adding him will make exactly four people, and we can finally play the game we’ve been wishing to play,” the slightly younger boy squeezed in front of me. “Hi, I’m Hideki, and this is brother Xue Fei. The short-haired tomboy is my classmate Shen Meng, and the quietest girl is called Sakurako.”
Although Hideki was thin and looked like he could be blown away by a gust of wind, he was actually the most active and daring person in the group.
“Actually, we’ve already played a few games just now, like “Spirit of the Pen” and “Ouija Board” but they didn’t work at all,” he continued.
“Playing “Spirit of the Pen” in this place? You guys are really looking for trouble,” I said with a tone of disbelief.
“You only realize it’s all a hoax after playing it, right?” Hideki spoke casually, but I noticed the other three staring at me with icy glares.
Feeling uneasy, I asked, “If you know it’s all a hoax, why not go home now?”
“No, no, no, there’s one more game we haven’t played yet. It’s a four-player game, and we don’t have enough people.” Hideki replied.
“What do you mean you don’t have enough people? Aren’t there four of you already?” Hideki’s words sounded eerie, and it gave me an uncomfortable feeling.
“Sakurako doesn’t play games. She’s very timid and never wants to play with us,” he explained.
I looked beyond the three teenagers in front of me and saw Sakurako standing at the back, looking very shy and always looking down without speaking much.
“Okay, I’ll play with you guys this one time, but remember, once we’re done, all of you need to go home quickly. It’s late, and your family must be worried about you sneaking out like this,” I said.
“Great, we finally have enough people,” Hideki exclaimed.
I couldn’t share in the excitement that Hideki was feeling. All I wanted was for these kids to safely leave before I thoroughly start searching the campus.
“The game is called Four Corners, and here’s how it works.”
“At midnight, in a rectangular empty room, turn off all the lights, and have one person stand in each of the four corners, facing the wall and never looking back.”
“At the start of the game, one of the people will walk towards another corner, tap the person in front of them on the shoulder, and stay in that corner. Then, the tapped person will walk towards another corner, tapping the person in front of them on the shoulder.”
“Everyone will go clockwise, continuing in this way. But if you reach a corner with nobody there, you must first cough, then walk past the empty corner and continue walking until you reach the next person.”
After hearing the rules, I didn’t find the game to be very scary. “Is that all there is to it? But according to what you just said, there will always be one corner left empty, so the game can never end.”
Hideki pressed his face against the window and looked into the classroom. “That’s not necessarily true,” he said.
“According to my friends who have played this game before, when there’s no one coughing in the room, it means that there is someone in every corner, but there’s always one person walking around because you can hear their footsteps inside the room!”
“This is a game played by four people, but as you play, a fifth person may appear.”
After he explained this to me, I suddenly felt a little regretful. “Why does it sound even scarier than playing with an ouija board?”
“What are you afraid of? It’s possible that it’s just something my friend made up,” Hideki patted his forehead. “If you’re really scared, you can all say ‘game over’ with your eyes closed to quit, but remember, all four people have to say it together. If one person disagrees, the game will continue.”
I glanced at my phone and saw that the viewers in the live stream room were also egging me on to play, and some even offered to pay rewards.
“Alright, shall we play in this classroom?” I asked.
“No, this classroom is too small,” said Xue Fei. “There’s a special classroom in this building that we can go to.”
“Special?” I squinted. “Looking at the door sign outside, there are five classes in each grade, and there are three grades, which should add up to fifteen classes. This building has four classrooms on each floor, and with a total of four floors, there should indeed be one classroom left vacant.”
We walked all the way to the top floor and stopped in front of the last classroom on the left.
Looking inside from the window, the tables and chairs in the classroom had been cleared out, leaving only the blackboard, podium, and a rusty fan hanging from the ceiling.
“Legend has it that this classroom was left empty because of a girl. Her family was very poor, and her parents had to work several jobs to afford her tuition. So she worked very hard compared to other students, studying and reading every day. During the day, she listened carefully in class, and at night, when everyone else had left the classroom, she didn’t want to go home and continued to stay in the classroom with a flashlight.”
“A week passed, then two. Until one day, the girl who had stayed late in the classroom was spotted by several wealthy young men. After they played with her, the girl, unable to bear the humiliation, jumped from the fourth floor and died instantly.”
“Although her body had perished, it was said that her spirit would return to the classroom every night to read and study.”
“Stop it, Hideki!” Shen Meng shouted, putting an end to Hideki’s increasingly enthusiastic storytelling.
“Are you scared?” Hideki asked.
Shen Meng pouted in defiance, “No way, I’m just afraid of scaring Sakurako.”
Sakurako, who always kept her distance from me, remained silent the whole time with her head down.
“Enough, let’s start now,” said Xue Fei, the oldest of the group. With his words, the others fell silent.
“And you; the game requires absolute darkness in this room. No light is allowed. Sakurako will keep watch outside with the camera for you.”
I nodded and placed the camera on the windowsill. Then, I slid open my phone and activated the camera function without actually unlocking the screen, so that the live stream would not be interrupted.
“Okay, let’s allocate our positions,” Hideki called us together. “I’ll go first and stand in the lower left corner. Then, the live streaming host, you’ll go in second and stand in the upper left corner. After that, Xue Fei will go in third and stand in the upper right corner. Finally, Shen Meng will go in and stand in the lower right corner. When everyone is in place, Shen Meng will cough, and I’ll start walking. Then, we’ll move clockwise, and when I tap the host’s shoulder, the host will start walking. If there is no one in a corner, cough and continue walking without stopping.”
“Does everyone remember the rules? Alright then, let’s begin.”
The classroom was pitch black with no hint of light. The thick darkness seemed like a pool of ink. After Hideki entered and had been there for a dozen seconds or so, I took a deep breath and stretched out my hands to feel my way into the classroom.
It was really dark inside. The visibility was extremely limited, making it difficult to see anything beyond half a meter, and as I stood up straight, I couldn’t even see my own shoes.
Slowly moving forward, my hand finally touched the wall. In the darkness, this small corner brought a strange sense of psychological comfort.
I turned my head to scan the classroom, but it was so large that I couldn’t see anything. The only source of light came from the window, where my camera’s signal light was flashing. Next to the signal light was Sakurako, bowing her head.
It wasn’t long before Shen Meng’s cough echoed through the classroom.
I knew the game had begun!
“Tap, tap, tap…” The footsteps behind me grew clearer and clearer. Facing the wall, I knew that it was Hideki coming up from behind, but I couldn’t control the nervousness in my heart.
“Pat.” My shoulder was lightly tapped, and I understood what to do. Following the clockwise direction, I walked towards the next corner.
To my surprise, time seemed to move exceptionally slower in the darkness, as if I had stepped onto a passage leading to an unknown destination.
Slowly, I saw a black silhouette. It was too dark, and even though I was close, I couldn’t be sure if it was Xue Fei.
“Finally,” I raised my hand and lightly patted the shoulder of the dark figure. I stopped at the corner and watched the shadow move slowly and disappear into the darkness.
The wait was long, and time seemed to lose its meaning in this classroom. I silently counted seconds, listening to my own heartbeat.
After about a minute, the first cough sounded in the classroom. “It’s Shen Meng,” I thought to myself.
Not long after, someone else walked by in the darkness and lightly tapped my shoulder.
I took another step to move forward, and it felt like an endless cycle.
The second cough sounded, barely audible, and it was impossible to tell who made it.
But according to my inference, the voice should come from Xue Fei.
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“Do you want to join us?” The oldest boy tilted his head and looked at me. His eyes were bright in the darkness, and for some reason, his gesture reminded me of the black cat I had just encountered at the gate.
“Well, since you guys are going to play, adding me won’t make a difference. If I can’t join in, I’ll just record you guys playing on the side,” I replied.
“Xue Fei, adding him will make exactly four people, and we can finally play the game we’ve been wishing to play,” the slightly younger boy squeezed in front of me. “Hi, I’m Hideki, and this is brother Xue Fei. The short-haired tomboy is my classmate Shen Meng, and the quietest girl is called Sakurako.”
Although Hideki was thin and looked like he could be blown away by a gust of wind, he was actually the most active and daring person in the group.
“Actually, we’ve already played a few games just now, like “Spirit of the Pen” and “Ouija Board” but they didn’t work at all,” he continued.
“Playing “Spirit of the Pen” in this place? You guys are really looking for trouble,” I said with a tone of disbelief.
“You only realize it’s all a hoax after playing it, right?” Hideki spoke casually, but I noticed the other three staring at me with icy glares.
Feeling uneasy, I asked, “If you know it’s all a hoax, why not go home now?”
“No, no, no, there’s one more game we haven’t played yet. It’s a four-player game, and we don’t have enough people.” Hideki replied.
“What do you mean you don’t have enough people? Aren’t there four of you already?” Hideki’s words sounded eerie, and it gave me an uncomfortable feeling.
“Sakurako doesn’t play games. She’s very timid and never wants to play with us,” he explained.
I looked beyond the three teenagers in front of me and saw Sakurako standing at the back, looking very shy and always looking down without speaking much.
“Okay, I’ll play with you guys this one time, but remember, once we’re done, all of you need to go home quickly. It’s late, and your family must be worried about you sneaking out like this,” I said.
“Great, we finally have enough people,” Hideki exclaimed.
I couldn’t share in the excitement that Hideki was feeling. All I wanted was for these kids to safely leave before I thoroughly start searching the campus.
“The game is called Four Corners, and here’s how it works.”
“At midnight, in a rectangular empty room, turn off all the lights, and have one person stand in each of the four corners, facing the wall and never looking back.”
“At the start of the game, one of the people will walk towards another corner, tap the person in front of them on the shoulder, and stay in that corner. Then, the tapped person will walk towards another corner, tapping the person in front of them on the shoulder.”
“Everyone will go clockwise, continuing in this way. But if you reach a corner with nobody there, you must first cough, then walk past the empty corner and continue walking until you reach the next person.”
After hearing the rules, I didn’t find the game to be very scary. “Is that all there is to it? But according to what you just said, there will always be one corner left empty, so the game can never end.”
Hideki pressed his face against the window and looked into the classroom. “That’s not necessarily true,” he said.
“According to my friends who have played this game before, when there’s no one coughing in the room, it means that there is someone in every corner, but there’s always one person walking around because you can hear their footsteps inside the room!”
“This is a game played by four people, but as you play, a fifth person may appear.”
After he explained this to me, I suddenly felt a little regretful. “Why does it sound even scarier than playing with an ouija board?”
“What are you afraid of? It’s possible that it’s just something my friend made up,” Hideki patted his forehead. “If you’re really scared, you can all say ‘game over’ with your eyes closed to quit, but remember, all four people have to say it together. If one person disagrees, the game will continue.”
I glanced at my phone and saw that the viewers in the live stream room were also egging me on to play, and some even offered to pay rewards.
“Alright, shall we play in this classroom?” I asked.
“No, this classroom is too small,” said Xue Fei. “There’s a special classroom in this building that we can go to.”
“Special?” I squinted. “Looking at the door sign outside, there are five classes in each grade, and there are three grades, which should add up to fifteen classes. This building has four classrooms on each floor, and with a total of four floors, there should indeed be one classroom left vacant.”
We walked all the way to the top floor and stopped in front of the last classroom on the left.
Looking inside from the window, the tables and chairs in the classroom had been cleared out, leaving only the blackboard, podium, and a rusty fan hanging from the ceiling.
“Legend has it that this classroom was left empty because of a girl. Her family was very poor, and her parents had to work several jobs to afford her tuition. So she worked very hard compared to other students, studying and reading every day. During the day, she listened carefully in class, and at night, when everyone else had left the classroom, she didn’t want to go home and continued to stay in the classroom with a flashlight.”
“A week passed, then two. Until one day, the girl who had stayed late in the classroom was spotted by several wealthy young men. After they played with her, the girl, unable to bear the humiliation, jumped from the fourth floor and died instantly.”
“Although her body had perished, it was said that her spirit would return to the classroom every night to read and study.”
“Stop it, Hideki!” Shen Meng shouted, putting an end to Hideki’s increasingly enthusiastic storytelling.
“Are you scared?” Hideki asked.
Shen Meng pouted in defiance, “No way, I’m just afraid of scaring Sakurako.”
Sakurako, who always kept her distance from me, remained silent the whole time with her head down.
“Enough, let’s start now,” said Xue Fei, the oldest of the group. With his words, the others fell silent.
“And you; the game requires absolute darkness in this room. No light is allowed. Sakurako will keep watch outside with the camera for you.”
I nodded and placed the camera on the windowsill. Then, I slid open my phone and activated the camera function without actually unlocking the screen, so that the live stream would not be interrupted.
“Okay, let’s allocate our positions,” Hideki called us together. “I’ll go first and stand in the lower left corner. Then, the live streaming host, you’ll go in second and stand in the upper left corner. After that, Xue Fei will go in third and stand in the upper right corner. Finally, Shen Meng will go in and stand in the lower right corner. When everyone is in place, Shen Meng will cough, and I’ll start walking. Then, we’ll move clockwise, and when I tap the host’s shoulder, the host will start walking. If there is no one in a corner, cough and continue walking without stopping.”
“Does everyone remember the rules? Alright then, let’s begin.”
The classroom was pitch black with no hint of light. The thick darkness seemed like a pool of ink. After Hideki entered and had been there for a dozen seconds or so, I took a deep breath and stretched out my hands to feel my way into the classroom.
It was really dark inside. The visibility was extremely limited, making it difficult to see anything beyond half a meter, and as I stood up straight, I couldn’t even see my own shoes.
Slowly moving forward, my hand finally touched the wall. In the darkness, this small corner brought a strange sense of psychological comfort.
I turned my head to scan the classroom, but it was so large that I couldn’t see anything. The only source of light came from the window, where my camera’s signal light was flashing. Next to the signal light was Sakurako, bowing her head.
It wasn’t long before Shen Meng’s cough echoed through the classroom.
I knew the game had begun!
“Tap, tap, tap…” The footsteps behind me grew clearer and clearer. Facing the wall, I knew that it was Hideki coming up from behind, but I couldn’t control the nervousness in my heart.
“Pat.” My shoulder was lightly tapped, and I understood what to do. Following the clockwise direction, I walked towards the next corner.
To my surprise, time seemed to move exceptionally slower in the darkness, as if I had stepped onto a passage leading to an unknown destination.
Slowly, I saw a black silhouette. It was too dark, and even though I was close, I couldn’t be sure if it was Xue Fei.
“Finally,” I raised my hand and lightly patted the shoulder of the dark figure. I stopped at the corner and watched the shadow move slowly and disappear into the darkness.
The wait was long, and time seemed to lose its meaning in this classroom. I silently counted seconds, listening to my own heartbeat.
After about a minute, the first cough sounded in the classroom. “It’s Shen Meng,” I thought to myself.
Not long after, someone else walked by in the darkness and lightly tapped my shoulder.
I took another step to move forward, and it felt like an endless cycle.
The second cough sounded, barely audible, and it was impossible to tell who made it.
But according to my inference, the voice should come from Xue Fei.
Do you want to join us? The oldest boy tilted his head and looked at me. His eyes were bright in the darkness, and for some reason, his gesture reminded me of the black cat I had just encountered at the gate.Well, since you guys are going to play, adding me won't make a difference. If I can't join in, I'll just record you guys playing on the side, I replied.Xue Fei, adding him will make exactly four people, and we can finally play the game we've been wishing to play, the slightly younger boy squeezed in front of me. Hi, I'm Hideki, and this is brother Xue Fei. The short-haired tomboy is my classmate Shen Meng, and the quietest girl is called Sakurako.Although Hideki was thin and looked like he could be blown away by a gust of wind, he was actually the most active and daring person in the group.Actually, we've already played a few games just now, like Spirit of the Pen and Ouija Board but they didn't work at all, he continued.Playing Spirit of the Pen in this place? You guys are really looking for trouble, I said with a tone of disbelief.You only realize it's all a hoax after playing it, right? Hideki spoke casually, but I noticed the other three staring at me with icy glares.Feeling uneasy, I asked, If you know it's all a hoax, why not go home now?No, no, no, there's one more game we haven't played yet. It's a four-player game, and we don't have enough people. Hideki replied.What do you mean you don't have enough people? Aren't there four of you already? Hideki's words sounded eerie, and it gave me an uncomfortable feeling.Sakurako doesn't play games. She's very timid and never wants to play with us, he explained.I looked beyond the three teenagers in front of me and saw Sakurako standing at the back, looking very shy and always looking down without speaking much.Okay, I'll play with you guys this one time, but remember, once we're done, all of you need to go home quickly. It's late, and your family must be worried about you sneaking out like this, I said.Great, we finally have enough people, Hideki exclaimed.I couldn't share in the excitement that Hideki was feeling. All I wanted was for these kids to safely leave before I thoroughly start searching the campus.The game is called Four Corners, and here's how it works.At midnight, in a rectangular empty room, turn off all the lights, and have one person stand in each of the four corners, facing the wall and never looking back.At the start of the game, one of the people will walk towards another corner, tap the person in front of them on the shoulder, and stay in that corner. Then, the tapped person will walk towards another corner, tapping the person in front of them on the shoulder.Everyone will go clockwise, continuing in this way. But if you reach a corner with nobody there, you must first cough, then walk past the empty corner and continue walking until you reach the next person.After hearing the rules, I didn't find the game to be very scary. Is that all there is to it? But according to what you just said, there will always be one corner left empty, so the game can never end.Hideki pressed his face against the window and looked into the classroom. That's not necessarily true, he said.According to my friends who have played this game before, when there's no one coughing in the room, it means that there is someone in every corner, but there's always one person walking around because you can hear their footsteps inside the room!This is a game played by four people, but as you play, a fifth person may appear.After he explained this to me, I suddenly felt a little regretful. Why does it sound even scarier than playing with an ouija board?What are you afraid of? It's possible that it's just something my friend made up, Hideki patted his forehead. If you're really scared, you can all say game over' with your eyes closed to quit, but remember, all four people have to say it together. If one person disagrees, the game will continue.I glanced at my phone and saw that the viewers in the live stream room were also egging me on to play, and some even offered to pay rewards.Alright, shall we play in this classroom? I asked.No, this classroom is too small, said Xue Fei. There's a special classroom in this building that we can go to.Special? I squinted. Looking at the door sign outside, there are five classes in each grade, and there are three grades, which should add up to fifteen classes. This building has four classrooms on each floor, and with a total of four floors, there should indeed be one classroom left vacant.We walked all the way to the top floor and stopped in front of the last classroom on the left.Looking inside from the window, the tables and chairs in the classroom had been cleared out, leaving only the blackboard, podium, and a rusty fan hanging from the ceiling.Legend has it that this classroom was left empty because of a girl. Her family was very poor, and her parents had to work several jobs to afford her tuition. So she worked very hard compared to other students, studying and reading every day. During the day, she listened carefully in class, and at night, when everyone else had left the classroom, she didn't want to go home and continued to stay in the classroom with a flashlight.A week passed, then two. Until one day, the girl who had stayed late in the classroom was spotted by several wealthy young men. After they played with her, the girl, unable to bear the humiliation, jumped from the fourth floor and died instantly.Although her body had perished, it was said that her spirit would return to the classroom every night to read and study.Stop it, Hideki! Shen Meng shouted, putting an end to Hideki's increasingly enthusiastic storytelling.Are you scared? Hideki asked.Shen Meng pouted in defiance, No way, I'm just afraid of scaring Sakurako.Sakurako, who always kept her distance from me, remained silent the whole time with her head down.Enough, let's start now, said Xue Fei, the oldest of the group. With his words, the others fell silent.And you; the game requires absolute darkness in this room. No light is allowed. Sakurako will keep watch outside with the camera for you.I nodded and placed the camera on the windowsill. Then, I slid open my phone and activated the camera function without actually unlocking the screen, so that the live stream would not be interrupted.Okay, let's allocate our positions, Hideki called us together. I'll go first and stand in the lower left corner. Then, the live streaming host, you'll go in second and stand in the upper left corner. After that, Xue Fei will go in third and stand in the upper right corner. Finally, Shen Meng will go in and stand in the lower right corner. When everyone is in place, Shen Meng will cough, and I'll start walking. Then, we'll move clockwise, and when I tap the host's shoulder, the host will start walking. If there is no one in a corner, cough and continue walking without stopping.Does everyone remember the rules? Alright then, let's begin.The classroom was pitch black with no hint of light. The thick darkness seemed like a pool of ink. After Hideki entered and had been there for a dozen seconds or so, I took a deep breath and stretched out my hands to feel my way into the classroom.It was really dark inside. The visibility was extremely limited, making it difficult to see anything beyond half a meter, and as I stood up straight, I couldn't even see my own shoes.Slowly moving forward, my hand finally touched the wall. In the darkness, this small corner brought a strange sense of psychological comfort.I turned my head to scan the classroom, but it was so large that I couldn't see anything. The only source of light came from the window, where my camera's signal light was flashing. Next to the signal light was Sakurako, bowing her head.It wasn't long before Shen Meng's cough echoed through the classroom.I knew the game had begun!Tap, tap, tap The footsteps behind me grew clearer and clearer. Facing the wall, I knew that it was Hideki coming up from behind, but I couldn't control the nervousness in my heart.Pat. My shoulder was lightly tapped, and I understood what to do. Following the clockwise direction, I walked towards the next corner.To my surprise, time seemed to move exceptionally slower in the darkness, as if I had stepped onto a passage leading to an unknown destination.Slowly, I saw a black silhouette. It was too dark, and even though I was close, I couldn't be sure if it was Xue Fei.Finally, I raised my hand and lightly patted the shoulder of the dark figure. I stopped at the corner and watched the shadow move slowly and disappear into the darkness.The wait was long, and time seemed to lose its meaning in this classroom. I silently counted seconds, listening to my own heartbeat.After about a minute, the first cough sounded in the classroom. It's Shen Meng, I thought to myself.Not long after, someone else walked by in the darkness and lightly tapped my shoulder.I took another step to move forward, and it felt like an endless cycle.The second cough sounded, barely audible, and it was impossible to tell who made it.But according to my inference, the voice should come from Xue Fei.
